Eco friendly cleaning – home made recipes

By Mrs Green | January 31, 2011 | 6

eco-friendly-cleaningThis week’s “Change the World Wednesday” challenge has us donning pinnys and rubber gloves and off for a spot of cleaning!

As Kris, who has set the challenge, reminds us “Most household cleaners contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment.” Not only that, but they are harmful to health too. In fact, the EPA state that indoor air pollution is up to 5 times more than outdoor and some of it is due to the chemicals we are using every day to ‘clean’ our homes.

This week then, we have be challenged to green up our cleaning routine – one of my favourite challenges!

If you’ve never tried Eco-friendly cleansers this is the week to try them out. If you’re a pro with using Environmentally-friendly cleaners but have never made your own, this is your opportunity to try making one!

Baking soda

I use a mixture of both shop bought and home made. For laundry I use Ecover’s laundry liquid. For cleaning the bath and sinks however, I like nothing more than a sprinkle of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) on a damp sponge, rubbed in, then rinsed with a spray of 50% water and 50% white vinegar. You can add essential oils to the blend if you’re not keen on the smell of vinegar, however, I can promise you that the smell dissipates as the vinegar dries.

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White vinegar

It leaves surfaces shiny and your taps or any chrome fixtures will sparkle! You can use this on work surfaces, hobs and your dining table. It works on tiles, in the oven and even burnt saucepans!

I’ve written heaps about using bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar for cleaning. Why not head over and pick up some more tips about cleaning your home the eco friendly way?

Posted in Green Cleaning and tagged

6 Comments

  1. Borislava on January 31, 2011 at 11:02 am

    I have to admit that this blog really inspired me to change my way of cleaning ( I did my first lemon and soda routine a couple of days ago :), but I’m still looking around for what works for me. How do you feel about alcohol? Shouldn’t that be both safe and strong enough for someone who switches from 3 different types of antibacterial spray?



  2. Joe on January 31, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Hi,

    Thanks for the article. It’s a reminder of how we can all be a bit more environmentally friendly when cleaning. There are such an array of toxic cleaning products out there! I have made the effort to switch on occasion – I could do with making it more permanent.

    Joe



  3. Small Footprints on January 31, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    Thanks so much for posting the links to your vinegar and baking soda cleaning routine. I was especially interested in the baking soda as an oven cleaner … I’ve been wondering what to use but never thought of baking soda. Definitely going to try that one out! I use vinegar & baking soda paste for just about all my cleaning … it works great and I’m learning that for those tougher stains, persistence pays … if I keep using it, often, the stains eventually lift off.

    Thanks, Mrs. Green! 🙂



  4. Mrs Green on February 1, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    @Borislava: So glad you’ve been inspired to make positive changes; well done on having a go. I’ve never personally used alcohol for cleaning; I’d use vinegar instead with antibacterial essential oils.
    @Joe: It all starts with baby steps Jo and we have to break old habits too! Maybe have a go again and see how you get on…
    @Small Footprints: The baking soda really does work for even the greasiest of ovens. Ok, so it takes longer and requires more effort, but I think it’s a small price to pay 😉



  5. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking on February 1, 2011 at 4:04 pm

    I am so glad that you are writing about this.So many people have no idea what is in their cleaning products.Thanks for all of the great tips and information!



  6. Mrs Green on February 4, 2011 at 9:46 am

    @Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking: Hi Alicia, you are welcome; it’s a subject I’m passionate about 🙂